Tag Archives: esp8266

I found out about sonoff about a year ago but never purchased any for quite some time, and then when I did purchase them, they’ve been sitting in the drawer gathering dust. Due to the recent flurry of activity about them on youtube and the internet at large, I’ve been prompted to take a closer look at them and they are VERY impressive!

SmartHouse—Jonathan Oxer

Jon has a few videos dedicated to the sonoff devices, and these are very good if you don’t know what they are. And even if you do know what they are, there’s still some good information in his videos. He is a wealth of knowledge on more than just the sonoff devices with general electrical engineering as it relates to home automation.

I would recommend having a look at this video and then paying a visit to his website:

Matt Kaczynski—MK-SmartHouse

I haven’t seen many of the videos on this channel as of yet, but Matt is using a lot of the technology and ideas that I have. For example, he uses OpenHAB2, sonoff devices and is integrating these with the likes of Siri and Alexa to create a custom home automation experience.

This video is an introduction to his setup. It wasn’t until the later half of the video that I realised he uses OpenHAB, something that I have already begun to introduce to my home.

After watching the video I visited his website and found the connections I have been looking for, namely MQTT, and OpenHAB. He has recently revamped his website and it has several guides and general information on his methodologies regarding home automation.

Bruh Automation

I have been following a few of the Bruh youtube channel videos as he’s incorporated modern technology into his home automation. However, he uses an opposing technology to what I have setup. It’s like comparing Holdens and Fords, or Republicans or Democrats. It’s largely personal preference, setup and features. I use OpenHAB where Bruh uses Home Assistant.

There’s nothing wrong with home assistant, it’s just that I’d spent a bit of time setting OpenHAB up and it works on older devices (such as the original iPad running iOS 5.1.1) which Home Assistant does not.

Still, his channel includes some good videos on the subject and I do recommend a visit to his channel.